Today I’m sharing some of the little poems I write in my head in the middle of the night while I’m feeding babies. I started doing this with my first son, Ryan. Now with my second son, and my increasing internet comprehension, I’ve given them a name, “mom ePoems”. Whether you’re a mom or not, I hope you enjoy…

***

Feeding You

Today I fed you ham
and I fed you peas
and cheese

Then you ate a snack
and another,
crumbs growing on your face

sipping milk through a straw
and leaving bits of food on the end

You burped and laughed
and looked at me expectantly,
“More?”

I sighed.
I don’t think there’s anything left to give you.

(May 2013)

***

First Weeks

Your father (not me) once said that
it’s hard to love them when they’re just a blob with eyeballs

But I think your eyeballs are one of your best features

(May 2012)

***

Go Slowly

Go slowly,
you will hurt yourself.

you will choke on all of those Ritz crackers

you will leave me
Go slowly.

(Spring 2013)

***

Her Again

Today you came home with your first black eye
and I said, “Who is she?”
Who let you fall, believing there was a step made for you
When there was none?

(Fall 2012)

***

Being Tired

I am tired.
There is a bull-weevil of tired-ness
Burrowing through my soul

And I am wanting just to lie here,
even though I can hear you crying

And wait until you’re eighteen
and you come in to check on me.

(May 2012)

***

Hold all the looseness up

Hold all the looseness up,
Spin it around
and set it down
Until the looseness leaves
And we are left with longing.

(August 2014)

***

Pregnancy Test

Weeks are a funny thing.
You can have 40 left
and life is just beginning
Or ending.

(September 2013)

***

Milk Neck

When you were new and I was new
There was a smell

I had no idea where or what it was

And then one day I discovered the old crusted milk
in the fat folds of your neck,

Poor neglected child you were.

After that I was more vigilant
And I didn’t let the milk dribble and collect

But I kind of missed the smell
–it was addicting

Now you smell so sweet
Your neck and hair

I sink my face in when you’re close

Sweat, salt, cream, sugar
all, both, please

Nothing rancid
It is almost too good.

(May 2012)

***

Your Hair, for Ryan

Your hair has made you many things
Banker, boxer, boy

Rock Star

The night you came it was so black
with your light brown skin
that I was sure you were Hispanic

Then suddenly it was red
and in your green jumpsuit
you looked like a leprechaun

I wanted to write an adventure travel book for young girls (ages 12-16). Soon it will be available on any eReader platform.

Thanks for checking in! and hope you enjoy…

Josephine Bianchi is about to be a senior in high school, but first she has to survive the summer.

It seems easy enough—she’s being sent to Sicily to work at her uncle’s bed and breakfast. It’s her father’s idea to banish her to the island of her ancestors, far away from her somewhat reckless group of friends at home.

But in the quiet town of Capodanno Josephine encounters the unexpected—a handsome amateur cyclist named Luke and a mystery that will forever change the way she understands her family. When her curiosity extends too far, and she learns that the Mafia also has an interest in her family’s secret, Josephine’s idyllic summer job takes a dangerous turn.

Things aren’t much better at home where her parents have just received terrible news, and now Josephine will have to navigate unfamiliar territory on both sides of the ocean.

One thing’s for sure: if she does return home, nothing about her life will ever be the same.